Auburn defense may not look pretty on paper, but has produced in key areas

January 3, 2014|By Paul Tenorio, Orlando Sentinel

NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. — Through a coaching career that spans decades, Auburn defensive coordinator Ellis Johnson has seen statistics paint accurate pictures of performance and also tell tall tales.

Johnson has coached dominant units that "look sexy in the stats," he said, and not so good defenses that manage only to make a play here and there but look decent in the rankings. The numbers don't always show the success of a unit, or its effectiveness.

Entering Monday night's Bowl Championship Series Game against top-ranked Florida State (13-0) and it's prolific offense, Johnson has not been able to reconcile the team he is coaching with the one that is ranked 87th in the country in total defense, giving up 423.5 yards per game.

"The whole thing has sort of confounded me," Johnson said. "… We have got terrible looking overall statistics, and some of them are not misleading, but we make critical stops at critical times and we're good on third- and fourth-down percentage and good in the red zone and good in the fourth quarter."

The second-ranked Tigers' ability to make the big play in the most critical scenarios has been the more telling aspect of a season that has relied heavily on heroics and late-game abilities.

In those areas, the Auburn defense has been plenty good enough.

The Tigers (12-1) are giving up just 4.5 points per game in the fourth quarter this season. They rank eighth nationally in red zone defense, allowing just 23 touchdowns on 48 possessions inside the 20-yard line, and are allowing 24 points per game. They have been able to get off the field on third down with relative consistency.

While the yards per game numbers are far from ideal, especially preparing for a Seminoles offense that has so easily moved up and down the field this season, Auburn has seemed to find a way to shut things down in the most critical areas.

"We hate that we're giving up some yards," Auburn defensive tackle Nosa Eguae said. "That's what our focus has been, cutting down on the big plays. [But] when it comes down to playing in the red zone, the end of the game when you need a stop, it's about players making plays. … We're going to go out there and try to make the most of it in big time situations.We got a bunch of guys that love that moment."

The Tigers will face their biggest challenge of the season against a Florida State offense that enters Monday's game just 28 points shy of the FBS all-time record for points in a season. The Seminoles have scored 689 points this season, eight more than Baylor, despite taking 193 fewer snaps and with the starting offense rarely playing an entire game this season.

The Auburn passing defense, which ranks 104th in the nation, allowing 260.2 yards per game, will be especially tested by Heisman Trophy winner Jameis Winston and his large array of weapons on the outside. Florida State ranks 14th in the nation in passing offense.

Auburn hopes the statistical match-ups on paper don't tell the true tale on the field in Pasadena.

"We know we may be the forgotten group," Eguae said. "But we're together and we'll get the job done. As long as we play as a group, we're going to find a way to win this football game."